Uhuru muzzles Ruto in his last Madaraka speech

For the first time since their election in 2013, Ruto was not allowed to address the gathering of 30,000, though he was very much present, wearing bright yellow sash, a state award. 

The DP  made a brief mild statement later on Facebook, saying, "We are the makers of this nation, let us choose a path of progress, unity and prosperity."

The head of state  made a pitch for Azimio presidential aspirant Raila Odinga and strongly endorsed his running mate, Martha Karua, and women's leadership. 

Equally, there was no recognition of Ruto's presence, the culmination of months of ugly succession feuding that has undermined his administration. 

They are bombarding us with nonsense. They are wrong, we are right

On the dais, Uhuru and Ruto were separated by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta with lots of space on either side of her. 

They formally shook hands on the dais but Ruto did not welcome the President to the event, as usual according to protocol. 

Throughout his speech at Uhuru Gardens on Wednesday, Uhuru ruthlessly answered Ruto on a number of issues and painted the DP's team as empty talkers out of their depth on Kenyan issues.

“They are bombarding us with nonsense. They are wrong, we are right,” a tough-talking President said, rubbishing claims by Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza team that his administration is a failure.

The decision to lock Ruto from any formal role during the national holidays was made a day after the burial of  President Mwai Kibaki.

At Kibaki's funeral service at Nyayo Stadium, Ruto openly referred to the Kibaki as "the greatest President Kenya ever had”.

The statement was made in the presence of foreign dignitaries, including President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.

The following day at Kibaki's burial in Othaya, Ruto tactically introduced his bottom-up politics in his eulogy, despite a ban on politicking.

"If there is a demonstration of bottom-up, we can learn from Mwai Kibaki,” the Deputy President said.

Ruto also said that the August polls should be peaceful to eliminate the need for a handshake, in a swipe at Uhuru and Raila who shook hands. 

An enraged Uhuru spoke for only two minutes.

The following day at the Labour Day celebrations on May 1, a livid Uhuru publicly asked Ruto to resign if he was unwilling to discharge his duties as his principal assistant.

“Instead of helping me end the situation [economic difficulties], you are all over in the market places inciting people to ask me about the situation. And then you call yourself a big leader, I don’t know what big number in this country,” Uhuru protested.

But Ruto responded with mockery.

"I feel your pain. Those you assigned my responsibilities and 'project' Mzee [Raila] have let you down miserably," the DP said.

It was after that response that the decision to stop Ruto from any official role during national fetes was reached.

“The initial plan was to reserve no seat for Ruto. But that plan was dropped,” sources told the Star.

The official Madaraka programme made no mention of Ruto.

In his speech as Kenya marked the holiday, Uhuru said his administration has built more roads in nine years than those built by previous administrations combined, including what the colonisers, built in 123 years.

I know what a new road means to the farmer who for decades has  been unable to get their produce quickly to the market

“They like it or not, that is the truth,” he said emphatically, in apparent response to criticism that his administration was a failure.

The President rubbished a claim by ANC Leader Musalia Mudavadi that Kenyans do not eat roads.

“The naysayers said that we should not invest so heavily in infrastructure. Because people don’t eat roads and floating bridges.

"I refused [to heed] their pessimism because I know what a new road means to the farmer who has for decades been unable to get their produce quickly to the market,” the President said.

He also made an endorsement of Raila and his running mate, Martha Karua, as his preferred successors.

Uhuru said Kenyans have a historic opportunity to elect the first woman deputy president on August 9.

“In August this year, if it is the wish of the electorate, we have a chance of a woman shattering the glass ceiling by assuming the second highest office in our republic,” the President said.

Uhuru was speaking about his administration’s efforts in empowering and building women's leadership.

There is speculation the President played a role in the nomination of Karua, as he is the key architect of the Azimio political machine.

Uhuru also heaped praise on his handshake with Raila for fostering political stability, thus accelerating development in his second term, exceeding that in his first term.

Ruto and his team have always insisted that the government stopped working after the handshake

Uhuru said his government built only 3,000km of tarmac roads in its first term compared to 8,000km done in the second term and another 6,600km underway

“And all this happened because of the political stability achieved because of the handshake,” the President said.

If Azimio wins the presidential contest, Karua will become the first woman in the history of the country to the hold of the deputy president – the second highest powerful position.

“As our women were part of the liberation struggle, advancing their course intentionally is a duty we owe them and ourselves as a country,” the President said.

Women have wrongly been relegated and sidelined with children, the elderly and disabled, he said.

“In fact, the first woman to be appointed as a Permanent Secretary happened 24 years after Independence,” he said.

Ruto, Raila’s fiercest competitor in the State House succession race, has settled on Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua as his deputy.

The two are the leading presidential contenders with opinion polls indicating a virtual dead heat in which either of them stands a stance to succeed President Kenyatta.

Debt is only a burden if the nation is led by a cabal of looters. But in the hands of  visionary administratorsdebt is a catalyst for rapid development

“Our first collective national duty is in the forthcoming general election on August 9, 2022 — to choose peace and stability over fear, hope over hate and progress over retrogression,” the President said.

President Kenyatta also defended his administration from claims of over- borrowing, saying, “The only time that debt is a burden to a nation is if the nation is led by a cabal of looters.

“But in the hands of a visionary administration, debt is a catalyst for rapid development,” he said.

Uhuru whose administration has often been accused of having an insatiable appetite for loans, said countries that have advanced economically borrowed money from others to become world powers.

Uhuru said his administration has used "other people’s money" to close the country’s infrastructure gaps and to connect local markets.

“When South Korea achieved its economic ‘miracle’ in a record 25 years, it also achieved the rank of being the fourth most indebted country in the world.

"But they did not call it debt, they called it ‘using other people’s money’ to advance their course,” he explained.

“Similarly, in the 1900s, Britain borrowed ‘other people’s money’ to industrialise. Indeed, Britain only finished repaying this debt in 2015 after 102 years.”

The President said Kenyans should instead be asking what the next administration will do with borrowed funds. “Will they end up in private pockets or will they be used to accelerate economic advancement?” he asked.

In the coming financial year starting in July, Kenya will spend Sh1.36 trillion, up from Sh1.15 trillion this year, to service its debt. That's about 40 per cent of the annual budget.

On the Competency-Based Curriculum, which Ruto has pledged to reverse, President Kenyatta declared the curriculum is here to stay.

“Given the manifest successes achieved in this short period of time, there is no turning back with respect to the Competency-Based Curriculum,” the President said.

(Edited by V. Graham)

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